Crafting a Winning Speech: It’s a Pain and Pleasure Thing

Joy Fisher-Sykes, a business consultant and coach at the Sykes Group, says that audiences can’t be fooled by an inauthentic oration. She recommends ditching statistics and making a real connection with the audience. Here’s how:

• Know your audience. “It’s about making a connection with what they are experiencing,” Fisher-Sykes says. “And remember, the only things that move people are pleasure and pain.”

• Avoid dry, statistics-filled orations. No one will remember.

• Tell your story. “People don’t remember statistics; they remember a great story, especially one they can see themselves in,” she says.

• Keep it real. “When a speaker shows some level of vulnerability, the audience will immediately think, ‘Wow, they are human, too,’” says Fisher-Sykes.

• Think carefully about handing out the text of the speech to your audience ahead of time. “It can work well, or it can be a distraction,” she says.